(RTTNews) - Following the pullback seen in the previous session, stocks may see further downside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.3 percent.
Technology stocks may lead the markets lower amid a steep drop by shares of Broadcom (AVGO), as reflected by the 1.2 percent slump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures.
Shares of Broadcom are plunging by 14.6 percent in pre-market trading even though the chipmaker reported fiscal second quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
Traders are seemingly disappointed that Broadcom CEO Hock Tan failed to raise the company's full-year forecast of $100 billion in AI chip sales.
"Broadcom may have emerged as a key player in the booming AI infrastructure market, with a particular expertise in the custom chips increasingly being used by the likes of Alphabet and Meta," said AJ Bell head of markets Dan Coatsworth.
He added, "However, just like its rival Nvidia, Broadcom is finding that meeting and even slightly beating forecasts is not enough when the market is holding it to such a high standard."
Overall selling pressure may be somewhat subdued, however, with a steep drop by the price of crude oil helping offset the negative sentiment.
U.S. crude oil futures are plunging by more than 3 percent after the Israeli and Lebanese governments agreed to renew a ceasefire, contingent on Hezbollah cutting off attacks and evacuating all operatives from the area south of the Litani River.
Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
With the monthly jobs report looming, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. unexpectedly increased in the week ended May 30th.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 225,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 212,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 212,000 from the 215,000 originally reported for the previous month.
With the unexpected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 230,000 in the week ended February 7th.
Stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session on Wednesday, giving back ground after trending higher over the past several sessions. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the Dow showing a notable slump.
The Dow showed a downward move going into the end of the day, closing down 620.72 points or 1.2 percent at 50,687.07. The Nasdaq also slid 239.93 points or 0.9 percent to 26,853,98, while the S&P 500 fell 56.10 points or 0.7 percent to 7,553.68.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.5 percent.
Meanwhile, most European stocks have moved to the upside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.1 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has bucked the uptrend and is down by 0.2 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are plunging $3.30 to $92.72 a barrel after surging $2.26 to $96.02 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after slumping $53 to $4,466.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $60.40 to $4,527.30 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.83 yen versus the 160.03 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1639 compared to yesterday's $1.1595.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
